I love how devilish and manipulating Itachi is in this fic. The writing is great but Haku's sudden change-of-heart still feels unlikely to me. His loyalty is something to be reckoned with. Interesting read nonetheless. Thanks for the entertainment.

I found your story by looking through someone else's favorites to try and find a good read.

Great, original, writing here. I like to see a dark Itachi once in a while. And why not? He is very good at it, after all. Beautiful, descriptive writing, Ookami-chan, and the setting and length seemed just right.

Hmm. A very good, horrifying story and an artful example of how easy it is to get devotion from desperate children.

Still, I am dissatisfied with it for personal reasons of taste and philosophy. I don't like the idea that someone can so easily subvert someone else's will-it runs up into the idea I have that, even when we don't recognize it, we've always got a choice, even if it's just a choice between something awful and something even more awful. I am unconvinced that Itachi's Mangekyo can be so effective a tool for brainwashing and mind-slaving with someone he's never even met...and someone who his only commonality is childhood genius.

After all, we only ever see him using it in two ways: blunt torture of Kakashi, and blunt torture of Sasuke...and any brainwashing of Sasuke seems to have been due as much to the circumstances as by Itachi's Mangekyo. Also, it should be noted that any use of Mangekyo is wearying, but two consecutive uses especially so.

But these are quibbles with the underlying 'theme' of the story, not with the story itself. Thanks for sharing.

But no one who's still got some good in them is ever so far gone that they're beyond being saved:)

WTF? Wow, so...wait, so confused, but so cool and...my brain can't comprhend this that well...

Fate chapter 1 . 6/6/2006

wow...

This was brilliantly written!

Well done!

IMP chapter 1 . 10/25/2005

Hm...well, this was interesting, to say the least.

I think it was an interesting take on the darker side of humanity, playing on the wants and fears of Haku, a boy who has not know love beyond that of those who use him, and the superb characterization of Itachi, skillfully weaving a tale of betrayal and memories in order to turn a lost boy-turned-weapon into a device for Itachi's own desires and dark plotting (of whatever he may be plotting at this point in time...ehh, let's not debate the timeline, here, huh?)

I think the entire idea of the story was wonderfully executed, and the way you told the story made it seem all the more believeable, amongst the crack-tastic plot shown, and your wonderful descriptions throughout the entire 'fic just made the story even better.

My only major points of criticism is that the story is a bit hard to get into. Well, hm...scratch that. The very beginning serves to draw you in, and it does that. But somewhere in the middle, you lost my attention. I'm not quite sure how to remedy that, so I'm not going to try to say anything else in that subject, except for that you might have made it a little too long for my tastes.

The last point I have to make is your last line,

"Elsewhere, Tazuna’s bridge was completed with ease under the protection of Team 7."

M...well, I'll readily admit that Haku and Zabuza served as extremely difficult (understatement, much?) adversaries to team seven, you can't forget that it wasn't just them that were after Tazuna. In fact, they were just hired by Gatou, who was the major underlying factor for that entire arc of the series, and had Zabuza and Haku not been hired by Gatou at all, other thugs woud still have been sent to take care of Tazuna.

And though, sure, those enemies probably wouldn't have been NEARLY as difficult as Zabuza and Haku would have been, they still would have been difficult for team seven, as they were newly appointed genin and weren't really battle hardened yet.

Sorry, just me being nitpicky.

But, seriously, good job. This was a really good idea, with even better characterization, and the fic deserves more reviews than it recieved. If you write more stuff like this, be sure to tell me! Because Itachi/Haku sounds...eh...hot.

Ashley chapter 1 . 9/8/2005

Really didn't like that at all, and if you're wondering why I finished it... call it morbid curiosity. Which is not to say it wasn't well written- it was as your fics invariably are, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Nice to see you still write every once in a while. I never see you on AIM anymore, though. *pout*

Oh puppy, where have you gone? *sobbles*

*huggles*

blisblop chapter 1 . 3/29/2005

Huh...wow..that was unexpectedly cool,you wrote Itachi so well I would have been intreged by him wether I knew who he was or strong characterations,you have a skill.I am a convert,this was a very beleivable attraction,well other then the obvious.I hope you continue in this ,it was fresh,well done.